Anchorage news

• Walker declares disaster for Alaska opioid health crisis

  15-02-2017 23:36
  
  Last updated at 2:57 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15
  Alaska’s opioid epidemic has caused Gov. Bill Walker to declare a public health crisis in an effort to better combat the issue.
  “The disaster declaration establishes a statewide Overdose Response Program under Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer and enables wide distribution of the life-saving drug, naloxone,” Walker’s office explained in a release.
  Walker called the declaration an “important first step” in addr
  
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• Man charged with manslaughter for collision that killed 10-year-old girl

  15-02-2017 22:56
  
  A 25-year-old man has been arrested for manslaughter and driving under the influence, for hitting and killing a 10-year-old pedestrian in November, according to a release from the Anchorage Police Department.
  APD said Christopher Lee Turner was arrested Tuesday.
  Police were called to Jewel Lake Road and 88th Avenue on Nov. 13 at 5:22 p.m., for a vehicle versus pedestrian collision.
  The child was taken to a local hospital, where she was declared deceased.
  APD said two pedestrians were crossing we
  
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• Grant plane belly lands Tuesday in Unalaska; no injuries reported

  15-02-2017 22:26 via ktoo.org
  
  Responders arrive on the runway after a Grant Aviation plane touches down without landing gear Tuesday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Aleutian Islands Photography)
  A small airplane landed on its belly Tuesday at Unalaska Airport. No one aboard was injured, but the accident shut down the runway for about four hours.
  Returning from Akun Island, the Grant Aviation plane touched down without landing gear around 1:30 p.m., according to a statement by the Alaska State Troopers.
  The pilot and two passen
  
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• Kenai borough assembly to consider eliminating religious invocation

  15-02-2017 22:11 via ktoo.org
  
  The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to introduce an ordinance on Feb. 14 that would put an end to the invocation that begins each meeting.
  South Peninsula representative Willy Dunne introduced the ordinance, which would modify Kenai Peninsula Borough code.
  The ordinance cites the “emotional divisions in our community” that the invocation controversy has caused.
  It also points to the significant cost to taxpayers that may result if the current policy is maintained. The Kenai Pe
  
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• ‘I’d like to see you hold back on settlements,’ Trump tells Netanyahu

  15-02-2017 19:24 via ktoo.org
  
  With differing messages emanating from the Trump administration about its stance on the two-state solution for in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, many eyes turned to President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for clarity on the issue at their joint news conference at the White House Wednesday.“So I’m looking at two-state and one-state — and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump said when asked about the subject alongside Netanyahu at the formal n
  
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• Police investigate shots fired in Switzer Village

  15-02-2017 18:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau Police Department have cordoned off the area of Forget Me Not Street and ask people to stay way from the scene while officers conduct their investigation.
  Police responded about 6:30 a.m. to multiple reports of gunshots in the Switzer Village Mobile Park, according to a JPD news release.
  Police arrived to the area of Forget Me Not Street, and determined that gunshots had taken place.
  An investigation is ongoing.
  
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• Police find shell casings in Switzer Village shooting incident

  15-02-2017 18:44 via ktoo.org
  
  Juneau police found shell casings from a handgun during an investigation Wednesday in the area around Lemon Creek mobile home park.
  Police officers were investigating a shooting on Forget Me Not Lane in the Switzer Village Mobile Park, according to a police news release. The area was cordoned off as officers searched a residence and a vehicle.
  A preliminary investigation determined that someone was in an argument and fired several rounds from the
  
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• Airplane lands without landing gear at Aleutians airport

  15-02-2017 18:34
  
  UNALASKA, Alaska (AP) – Three people escaped injury when a commercial airplane landed without landing gear at an airport on the Aleutian Islands.
  Alaska State Troopers say the Grant Aviation flight landed Tuesday in Unalaska with a pilot and two passengers.
  The Super King Air 8200 was returning after a flight to Akun (ah-KOON) Island.
  Troopers say the pilot and the passengers were able to leave the plane safely and that they declined medical attention.
  The incident closed the runway at Una
  
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• State gas pipeline agency spends $50,000 on Iditarod sponsorship

  15-02-2017 18:23
  
  What does the state’s proposed natural gas pipeline have to do with the Iditarod? That’s one of the questions members of the Senate Finance Committee had Tuesday for the agency marketing the mega-billion dollar project. Lawmakers are demanding more transparency from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), which now leads the Alaska liquefied natural gasline (AKLNG) project after the three oil giants — ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and BP — left the project in Dece
  
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• Man charged with assaulting woman with stock of shotgun

  15-02-2017 18:22
  
  UPPER KALSKAG, Alaska (AP) – A 48-year-old man suspected of assaulting a woman relative in a southwest Alaska village has been charged with two counts of felony assault.
  Wayne Holmberg of Upper Kalskag is being held on $100,000 bail at the Bethel jail.
  Medical personnel at the Upper Kalskag Clinic on Sunday reported the woman’s injuries to Alaska State Troopers.
  Troopers say Holmberg repeatedly hit the woman with the stock of a shotgun until the handle broke.
  She suffered additional
  
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• AFD: 2 people killed, 17 hospitalized by large fire

  15-02-2017 13:46
  
  Sierra Starks/KTVA Courtesy Ray Ruger Porte Courtesy Ceara Raelynn StreiselLast updated at 5:10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15The Anchorage Fire Department has responded to a large structure fire on Minnesota Drive that has claimed at least two lives.
  The fire was first reported at 2:20 a.m. Wednesday at the Royal Suite Lodge, according to a fire dispatcher. It was under control by 5 a.m., according to fire officials at the scene.
  Multiple victims have been reported at the fire. AFD spokeswoman Jod
  
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• 1 person identified in fatal Anchorage fire

  15-02-2017 13:46
  
  Last updated at 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15
  The Anchorage Fire Department is investigating a large structure fire that claimed at least two lives early Wednesday. The Anchorage Police Department identified one of the victims as 38-year-old Teuaililo G. Nua of Anchorage.
  The fire was first reported at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Royal Suite Lodge, according to a release from AFD, adding that they were on scene within three minutes. When they arrived, they made a request for mor
  
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• Middle school sports travel is back on the school board’s agenda

  15-02-2017 12:21 via ktoo.org
  
  The Juneau School Board is revisiting its 2013 travel ban for middle school sports.
  The 2013 school board disappointed a lot of people in Juneau when it voted to stop middle school sports teams from traveling out of town. At the school board meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Mark Miller said he read dozens of pages of documents to wrap his head around the previous board’s decision. Miller wasn’t working for the district when the decision was made.
  Juneau Schools Superintendent Mar
  
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• Fresh air and an outdoor game suit the Alaska Aces just fine

  15-02-2017 08:22
  
  Even professional hockey teams need a change of pace occasionally. So when in Alaska, do like the Alaskans.
  Go outside.
  Once or twice a season, the Alaska Aces will shed the Sullivan Arena practice ice for the natural surface of the Bonnie Cusack Memorial Outdoor Rink, next door to the Sully.  It serves a break away from the usual.
  “You see people out here every time we come to the rink,” said Aces left wing Garet Hunt. “Some days you wish you
  
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• Anchorage Assembly adopts ordinance banning active duty military pot discounts

  15-02-2017 08:15
  
  Anchorage Assembly members were divided Tuesday evening on whether to approve an ordinance that would prohibit marijuana businesses from offering military discounts.
  Because military members are not allowed to use marijuana, some Assembly members feel the ordinance is redundant, unnecessary and even offensive to soldiers.
  “The men and women who serve in uniform, they know the rules. They respect the rules,” said Assembly member Amy Demboski, whose district includes Joint Base Elmendo
  
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• Witness’s domestic violence utterance prompts mistrial in Strawn homicide trial

  15-02-2017 07:56 via ktoo.org
  
  Defendant Christopher Strawn (left), defense atttorney Eve Soutiere (middle), and prosecutor Amy Paige listen to Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg during bench conference on Feb. 14, 2017. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
  A mistrial has been declared in the Christopher Strawn homicide trial.
  Strawn was in Juneau Superior Court on murder and other charges related to the death of Brandon Cook at the Kodzoff Acres trailer park in October 2015.
  The trial ended abruptly Tuesday afternoon after a pros
  
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• Money or jail: Scammer impersonates trooper, claims to have arrest warrant

  15-02-2017 06:35
  
  A familiar scam is making another appearance in Alaska — someone is pretending to be an Alaska State Trooper in an attempt to get Alaskans’ money.
  According to an online dispatch, troopers received a report of the scam on Monday. As in previous versions of the scam, someone impersonated a trooper during a phone call and said the victim had a warrant for his arrest and owed the agency money.
  “An individual -usually a male- calls and identifies themselves as an Alaska State Troop
  
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• Ethics, integrity course working to shape AKNG culture

  15-02-2017 05:59
  
  The Alaska National Guard is preparing its future leaders to serve with integrity and professionalism.
  The Guard is putting its mid-level enlisted soldiers and airmen through the Military Professionalism and Ethical Fitness Conference. The course was developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense. Alaska’s Guardsmen are the first to go through it, according to Chief Master Sgt. Paul Nelson, command senior enlisted member for the Guard.
  Mid-level enlisted personnel are seen as
  
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• Wasilla husky competes in prestigious national dog show

  15-02-2017 05:57
  
  Riot, a Siberian husky from Wasilla, went nose-to-nose with some tough competition in the Big Apple.
  Courtesy: Stevie Collins
  The 3-year-old spent months preparing for his big debut at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. He took the floor on Tuesday.
  Riot’s owner, Stevie Collins, snapped a couple photos before the event. She says Riot didn’t take home any ribbon’s this year, but that won’t keep them from trying again in 2018.
  &ldqu
  
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• KTVA Weather Lab: Susitna Elementary School

  15-02-2017 05:48
  
  In this week’s KTVA Weather Lab, I visited Susitna Elementary School. The third-graders in Ms. Lothrop and Ms. Rachel’s classes are learning about meteorology and while I was there, they asked me how hail is made.
  Next week I’ll answer a weather question from Scenic Park Elementary School.
  Every Tuesday, Melissa Frey will take the KTVA Weather Lab to a classroom in our community. If you have a weather question for Melissa or would like her to visit your
  
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• New volcano monitoring bill aims to keep communities safe

  15-02-2017 05:43
  
  There are nearly 170 active volcanoes in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and 52 of those are in Alaska. That’s one reason Sen. Lisa Murkowski is among the sponsors of a bill that would allow scientists to keep a closer eye on them.
  Just last month, geophysicists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) witnessed several major eruptions at the Bogoslof Island volcano in the Aleutians. Murkowski says AVO was instrumental in determining whether the event
  
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• Valentine’s Day keeps local shops busy

  15-02-2017 05:22
  
  Valentine’s Day is the first major, gift-giving holiday of the new year. The National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend about $18 billion, which means big business for local stores.
  At Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge, chocolatier Rebecca Reed spent Feb. 14 hand-dipping hundreds of chocolate-covered strawberries. She said the company would do two weeks’ worth of business in just a few hours.
  “This is our holiday,” Reed said. “Right after Christmas stops w
  
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• Alaska Weather Forecast – Feb. 14, 2017

  15-02-2017 05:20
  
  Meteorologist Melissa Frey provides a current look at today’s weather conditions and what we can expect for the rest of the week.
  The post Alaska Weather Forecast – Feb. 14, 2017 appeared first on KTVA 11.
  
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• Transportation fair offers a chance to weigh in on road construction projects

  15-02-2017 05:17
  
  If you have complaints about an ongoing or planned road construction project, Wednesday is a good opportunity to voice your concerns.
  The Municipality of Anchorage and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT) will host a transportation fair alongside a number of other agencies. Attendees will be able to visit dozens of booths, many of which are dedicated to a specific road construction project.
  There will be people involved in both state and municipality projects avai
  
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• Anchorage Assemblyman introduces privacy from drones ordinance

  15-02-2017 04:57
  
  An ordinance designed to protect the public from the spying eyes of drones will be introduced at the Anchorage Assembly Monday night.
  Sponsor Patrick Flynn said the ordinance is meant to discourage some very specific behavior.
  “This is the neighbor bugging you while you are trying to enjoy the privacy of your back yard or your deck,” Flynn explained.
  The Alaska constitution already gives Alaskans a right to privacy, but Flynn said in Anchorage, there has never been a way to enforce t
  
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• AWAIC: Valentine’s Day can mean danger for domestic violence victims

  15-02-2017 04:50
  
  It’s supposed to be a day for lovers, but experts warn Valentine’s Day can also be dangerous for people in violent relationships.
  Domestic violence advocates at Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) say the cycle of violence often starts with a honeymoon period, like a holiday, but it can quickly escalate to a verbal or physical attack.
  Executive director Suzi Pearson said it can be difficult for victims to realize what’s going on because that cycle has become normalized.
  
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• Juneau assembly cracks down on homeless sleeping downtown

  15-02-2017 04:32
  
  The Juneau Assembly is cracking down on homeless people sleeping near downtown businesses.
  The city and borough assembly voted 5-4 Monday to pass an ordinance that will let police cite anyone caught sleeping on private property downtown between midnight and 7 a.m.
  KTOO radio reports the ordinance will take effect in April. The move followed complaints from downtown merchants.
  Assembly member Jerry Nankervis supported the ordinance, calling it a defense of private property rights.
  But Norton Greg
  
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• Lawmakers grill Alaska’s gasline corporation on its budget

  15-02-2017 04:02 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, and Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, listen to Alaska Gasline Development Corporation President Keith Meyer, during a Senate Finance meeting focusing on the corporation’s budget on Tuesday in Juneau. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  The state corporation (Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, or AGDC) charged with taking the lead on the massive Alaska liquid natural gas project is again having its finances questioned.  On Tuesday,
  
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• Cook Inlet company fined nearly half a million dollars for safety violations

  15-02-2017 03:40 via ktoo.org
  
  Chunks of ice float in Cook Inlet on Dec. 13, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  A state agency on Tuesday announced it is fining an oil and gas company that operates in Cook Inlet for major safety violations.
  The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) is imposing a $446,000 penalty on Cook Inlet Energy for operating a well with failed safety valve systems. The valves prevent fluid from escaping an oil or gas well and can help guard agains
  
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• New fee would sharply hike state fees for studded tires

  15-02-2017 03:01 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, speaks at a Senate Majority press availability, February 13, 2017. She has proposed a bill to sharply increase state fees for studded tires. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
  A proposed bill would increase the fee Alaskans pay to the state when they buy studded tires by 1,500 percent.
  The rutted lanes on the Glenn Highway in Anchorage’s Eagle River section have helped prompt the new legislation.
  Anchorage Republican Senator Cathy Giessel drives on the hig
  
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• After Bogoslof eruption, Sen. Murkowski renews push for enhanced volcano monitoring

  15-02-2017 02:55 via ktoo.org
  
  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (KRBD file photo)
  Senator Lisa Murkowski wants to bolster the nation’s volcano monitoring system. The bill Murkowski is sponsoring, introduced Monday, would modernize existing monitoring networks and create a 24-7 volcano watch office to keep an eye on active volcanoes across the country. Plus, it would create a connected system — the National Volcano Early Warning System — where information from the nation’s five volcano observatories would
  
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• That ‘not-at-fault’ collision could still hike your premium

  15-02-2017 02:52
  
  Were you recently rear-ended at a red light by a driver who was texting? If so, you probably got a double dose of bad luck, according to a just-published study by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
  It showed that drivers in major cities nationwide end up paying more — as much as $400 in Queens, New York — when they apply for insurance after they’ve suffered a fender-bender, even if it’s the other motorist’s fault. And that’s in addition to the alre
  
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• Can home wood pellet boilers go from fringe to mainstream?

  15-02-2017 02:36 via ktoo.org
  
  Christal Higdon estimates her family goes through a little more than a $6 bag of pellets a day in her wood pellet boiler. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/Alaska’s Energy Desk)
  The Ketchikan airport has one. So does the Walter Sobeloff Building in downtown Juneau. Now, a fringe group of homeowners are installing wood pellet boilers to heat their homes. Not to be confused with wood burning stoves, these boilers have been marketed as a cheaper alternative to heating oil, at least, in the lon
  
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• Surviving family says supposed suicide victim in Bethel was murdered during drug dispute

  15-02-2017 02:15
  
  On the night of Jan. 31 of this year, a Bethel man named Michael “Big Mike” Chris was found dead outside his home. At the time, police called it an apparent self-inflected gunshot wound, but his family believes that this was not a suicide or an accident, according to a story published by KYUK Public Media.
  The night of Mike Chris’ death, Jackie Chris, his wife, was lying in bed with her husband when he got a phone call, which he didn’t answer.
  “I felt him scoot
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 2-17

  15-02-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  Wednesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon,William Todd Hunt will be here to highlight The Orpheus Project’s production of West Side Story;
  We’ll talk with Robert Fagen and poets involved with the Convergence book;
  We’ll get an update on Red Cross activities with guest, Lori Wilson;
  We’ll get the details on the upcoming Downtown Restaurant Week;
  We’ll get an update about Eaglecrest;
  That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, today on A Juneau Afternoon, live
  
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• Juneau Afternoon – 2-15-2017

  15-02-2017 02:00 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Wednesday at 3 on A Juneau Afternoon, Scott Burton hosts.
  William Todd Hunt will be here to highlight the Orpheus Project’s production of “West Side Story”;
  We’ll talk with Robert Fagen and poets involved with the book “Convergence”;
  Lori Wilson will give us an update on the Red Cross and their annual fundraiser on Friday;
  And we’ll check in with Eaglecrest;
  That, Writer’s Almanac, Bird Note, music and more, today on A Juneau Afternoon, live a
  
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• Juneau deputy mayor decries bumper sticker vandalism

  15-02-2017 01:44 via ktoo.org
  
  
  Juneau Assembly Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis says his vehicle was vandalized while parked outside City Hall during a contentious debate over the Juneau Access Project on Jan. 23, 2017. The deputy mayor shared this photo during the Feb. 13 Juneau Assembly meeting. (Photo courtesy Jerry Nankervis)
  During Monday’s Juneau Assembly meeting, Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis shared this photo he took of his vehicle, saying it had been vandalized last month during the Assembly’s debate over a re
  
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• Juneau murder trial ends in mistrial

  15-02-2017 01:11 via ktoo.org
  
  A mistrial has been declared in the Christropher Strawn homicide case.
  All 12 jurors have been sent home and a new trial is tentatively set for April.
  The trial ended abruptly this afternoon after a prosecution witness  took the stand. She was a former girlfriend of Strawn’s who was expected to testify about his previous ownership of a firearm.
  Despite specific instructions, the woman voluntarily blurted out prejudicial details about their relationship on
  
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• Newscast – Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017

  15-02-2017 00:59 via ktoo.org
  
  
  http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2017/02/2017-02-14-newscast.mp3In this newscast:
  The Juneau Assembly passes the downtown camping ban, and
  State lawmakers propose an income tax with options to pay with Permanent Fund dividends.
  
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• Ex-crewman says cause of Alaska sinking may never be known

  15-02-2017 00:40
  
  The brother of a crewman aboard a crab boat missing and presumed sunk in the Bering Sea says it’s likely no one will ever know what went wrong.
  F/V Destination. Photo by Jack Molan
  Dylan Hatfield says a number of factors probably contributed to a capsizing Saturday morning of the 98-foot crab boat Destination with six crewmen on board.
  Hatfield spent parts of seven seasons on the boat, and when he left, he was replaced by his brother, 36-year-old Darrik Seibold.
  Hatfield says the boat may
  
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